1、大学英语四级模拟试卷 799及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing (30 minutes) 1 For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic Students Hire Housekeepers. You must base your composition on the following instructions (given in Chinese ).Your composition should be no less than 120 words. Remember
2、 to write it neatly. 目前，在大学校园里，学生花钱雇人洗衣、做清洁的现象越来越普遍。请谈谈你对此事的看法。 二、 Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes) Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions attached to the passage. For questions 1-7, mark： Y (for YE
3、S) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 2 Robot Cars to Do Battle in Desert Race When 15 competitors lined up in Nevada last
4、year for the U.S. Defense Departments first million-dollar robot race, hopes were high. The challenge: to drive a vehicle without a human driver or remote control some 150 miles (241 kilometers) through the Mojave Desert. But those hopes quickly went up in a cloud of dust as most robots barely manag
5、ed to get off the starting line. The best performer, a modified Humvee built by engineers at Pennsylvanias Carnegie Mellon University, traveled 7 miles (11 kilometers) before breaking down. To robot devotees (热爱者 ), however, it was a minor hiccup. No surprise, then, that 43 teams showed up to try ou
6、t for this years race, dubbed (被称作 ) the Grand Challenge. For the past week, teams ranging from garage enthusiasts to well-funded university engineers have been fine-tuning their machines at qualifying rounds here at the California Speedway in Fontana, California. (Watch the robots in action in our
7、exclusive video.) Twenty-three finalists were announced Thursday for Saturdays Grand Challenge. The 175-mile (282-kilometer) course starts and finishes in Primm, Nevada. The race promises to be even tougher than last years run. But 18 months is an eternity in the robotics world, and the technology h
8、as vastly improved. Organizers believe several teams have a real shot of finishing the race in less than ten hours to earn the grand prize of two million U.S. dollars. “When the first team out of the Chute (斜道 )-Mojavaton, a small team out of Colorado-made it successfully around the 2.2-mile (3.5-ki
9、lometer) qualification course, I knew right there and then that we had something special,“ said Ron Kurjanowicz, the chief of staff for the Pentagons Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is sponsoring the race. Unknown Course The aim of the Grand Challenge, Defense Department! of
10、ficials say, is to spur development of autonomous ground vehicles that can operate in dangerous environments, such as war zones, keeping soldiers out of harms way. A U.S. Congress mandate (训令 ) requires that one-third of military ground vehicles drive themselves by 2015, but the technology to meet t
11、hat mandate does not yet exist. So the government looked to enterprising teams to develop the technology for driverless vehicles, sweetening its offer with the two-million-dollar purse. None of the 23 teams knows what lies ahead for this years race. DARPA wont reveal the exact route until two hours
12、before the start of the race on Saturday. But the obstacles on the Fontana qualification course-including a steel-enforced tunnel that wipes out a vehicles global positioning system-are made to resemble the rugged, real-life conditions that the vehicles will have to navigate. The vehicles use sensor
13、s such as lasers, cameras, and radar to help them avoid obstacles such as rocks and cliffs. The computers brain has to figure out how to resolve unexpected conflicts, like a boulder sitting in the middle of the road. “Think about all the decisions that you and I have to make when we drive from our h
14、ouse to the store,“ Kurjanowicz said. “These vehicles have to do the same thing, without a driver.“ Among the top contenders in Saturdays race is TerraMax, a massive truck originally built by the Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Truck Corporation for the U.S. Marine Corps. In last years race, TerraMax manage
15、d to go only 1.2 miles (2 kilometers). Team leader Gary Schmiedel expects to do much better this year. He pointed to the new all-wheel steering feature on the truck as an important addition. “We can move this large, 15-ton (13.5-metric ton) payload vehicle in a turn thats equivalent to that of a Hum
16、vee,“ he said. Ghostrider The resources of teams like TerraMax or Carnegie Mellon University, which has two vehicles in the race this year, are a far cry from those of some of the other competitors, including inventors, electricians, and even a high school team. One entry, from a Southern California
17、 team of engineers, racers, and hot-rodders, is called It Came From the Garage. It has a beer keg (小桶 ) stuck on the back and an on-offswitch that says “brain.“ “Most of the schools and organizations were up against are just accessorizing conventional vehicles,“ said team leader Chris “C.J.“ Pederse
18、n, a former actor. “Our vehicle is a custom-built, 21st-century hot plete with hood scoop and exhaust coming off the side.“ Anthony Levandowski, a robotics builder from Berkeley, California, is back with Ghostrider, the only motorcycle robot in the qualifications. Studded with sensors and computers,
19、 it toppled (翻倒 ) over after 3 feet (1 meter) in last years race. Levandowski, who had to postpone his graduate studies when he couldnt find a faculty advisor who believed it would be possible to build the motorcycle robot, says his vehicle has some distinct advantages. “Were smaller and go a lot mo
20、re places,“ he said while tinkering with the robot before another trial run. “Were also a lot less expensive. This bike costs as much as a tire or a wheel of some of these other guys machines.“ Smart Money Neither Ghostrider nor It Came From the Garage made the final cut at this weeks qualifying rac
21、es. However, another crowd-pleaser, Cajunbot-or the Ragin Cajun-a converted all-terrain vehicle developed by a team from the University of Louisiana in Lafayette, did. The smart money in Saturdays race may be on Stanley, a converted Volkswagen Touareg made by a team at Californias Stanford Universit
22、y. It was the only vehicle that didnt hit an obstacle in the trial runs. Even if none of the vehicles finishes the race this year, DARPAs Kurjanowicz said, the event has succeeded in galvanizing robotics developers and pushing the creation of new technologies. “The beauty of the Grand Challenge is t
23、hat it doesnt tell people how to solve the problem,“ he said. “The community has come up with its own elegant solutions.“ 2 The passage mainly describes the advantages and disadvantages of robot car races. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 3 Last years robot race in Nevada was a great success. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C
24、） NG 4 It is a surprise that up to 43 teams came for this years race called the Grand Challenge. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 5 The Pentagons Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is sponsoring the race. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 6 The aim of the Grand Challenge is to spur development of autonomous
25、 ground vehicles. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 7 Ghostrider and It Came From the Garage both made the final cut at this weeks qualifying races. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 8 TerraMax will finish the race and win the grand prize of two million U.S. dollars. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 9 The obstacles on the Fontana qua
26、lification course are made to resemble the _ . 10 The only motorcycle robot in the qualifications is _ . 11 The only vehicle that didnt hit an obstacle in the trial runs is _ . Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each con
27、versation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked A, B, C and D, and decide which is the best answer. （ A） The man wa
28、nts to attend tomorrows show. （ B） There arent any tickets left for tonights show. （ C） There arent any tickets left for tomorrows show. （ D） The man doesnt want to attend tomorrows show. （ A） Detective stories. （ B） Stories about fail escapes. （ C） Love stories. （ D） Stories about royal families. （
29、 A） It was a long lecture, but easy to understand. （ B） It was not as easy as she had thought. （ C） It was as difficult as she had expected. （ D） It was interesting and easy to follow. （ A） To put him through to the director. （ B） To have a talk with the director about his work. （ C） To arrange an a
30、ppointment for him with the director. （ D） To go and see if the director can meet him right now. （ A） Margaret wanted to return some magazines to the woman. （ B） Margaret wanted to lend some magazines to the woman. （ C） Margaret wanted to borrow some magazines from the woman. （ D） Margaret wanted to
31、 get some magazines back from the woman. （ A） He doesnt care much about it. （ B） He enjoys it very much. （ C） He doesnt mind even though its tedious. （ D） He hates working overtime. （ A） The woman doesnt think it exciting to travel by air. （ B） Theyll stay at home during the holidays. （ C） They are
32、offered some plane tickets for their holidays. （ D） Theyll be flying somewhere for their vacation. （ A） Something went wrong with the bus. （ B） She took somebody to hospital. （ C） Something prevented her from catching the bus. （ D） She came on foot instead of taking a bus. （ A） A satellite. （ B） An
33、ordinary plane. （ C） A space plane. （ D） A space rocket. （ A） A space plane is bigger than an ordinary plane. （ B） A space plane looks totally different from an ordinary plane. （ C） A space plane carries more passengers than an ordinary plane. （ D） A space plane travels much faster than an ordinary
34、plane. （ A） A space rocket can only be used once. （ B） The pilot can fly a space plane just like an ordinary plane. （ C） A space rocket travels much faster than a space plane. （ D） Both A and B. （ A） In a library. （ B） In a school. （ C） In a bookstore. （ D） In a publishers office. （ A） Travel. （ B）
35、Mystery. （ C） History. （ D） Poetry. （ A） She has a copy of one of his books. （ B） He gave gifts to millions of people. （ C） He was a very wealthy man in his time. （ D） Sample of his writing is worth a lot of money. （ A） Do some research. （ B） Sell some of her books. （ C） Talk to some politicians. （
36、D） Sign her name in the book. Section B Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices
37、 marked A, B, C and D. （ A） The need to bring back the large studios. （ B） The benefits of a dramatic arts education. （ C） The influence of television. （ D） The troubles within the film industry. （ A） Increased theater size. （ B） Excess production. （ C） A reduced market. （ D） Reduced loan guarantors
38、. （ A） The lack of talent. （ B） The changes in studio management. （ C） The introduction of television. （ D） The distances between the theaters. （ A） The television was introduced. （ B） Ticket prices were increased. （ C） The finance companies declined. （ D） More than half of staff were dismissed. 31
39、What do we know about the practice of celebrating the New Year on January 1? （ A） Many countries dislike it. （ B） All countries observe it. （ C） It began with the Americans. （ D） It began with the Romans. 32 Why did people in old times make noise in the New Year? （ A） To show how happy they were. （
40、B） To drive away the evil spirits. （ C） To warn the thieves and robbers. （ D） To sell their drums and sticks. 33 How do young people in Denmark celebrate the New Year? （ A） Sing and dance in the square till midnight. （ B） Throw pieces of pottery against friends houses. （ C） Kiss each other when the
41、clock strikes midnight. （ D） Go from house to house and make noises. 34 What does the speaker tell us about black-eyed peas? （ A） It is the favorite food of young people. （ B） It is the last food of the past year. （ C） It brings good luck to people. （ D） It is good for peoples health. （ A） They are
42、great soldiers. （ B） They are civilized. （ C） They are intelligent because they are good at fighting. （ D） They are right if they win the war. Section C Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its
43、general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact wo
44、rds you have just heard or write down the 35 There are five basic functions of a newspaper: to inform, to review, to persuade, to instruct and to entertain. You may think that this list of functions is in order of 【 B1】_, but, if so, you would not be in agreement with the 【 B2】 _ of the reading publ
45、ic. Of the two 【 B3】 _ of newspaper, the popular and the quality, the former have a 【 B4】 _ of millions, while the latter, only hundreds of thousands. Yet the popular papers seem largely 【 B5】 _ for recreation and light-hearted human interest stories. Their news coverage contains lots of 【 B6】 _and
46、persuasive language; the information content is low, and instruction is 【 B7】 _. However, the quality newspapers put a much lower emphasis on 【 B8】 _. It is not only in content that the two types of paper differ. 【 B9】 _. The popular papers generally use more dramatic language with a lot of wordplay
47、. This means that popular newspapers are easier for a native speaker to understand. 【 B10】 _, since you can tell simply by the way it looks. Popular papers are generally smaller with fewer columns per page. They have bigger headlines and more photographs. There is a greater variety of typeface and p
48、rinted symbols. 【 B11】 _. Larger headlines, pictures and positions on the page all serve to draw the readers attention. 36 【 B1】 37 【 B2】 38 【 B3】 39 【 B4】 40 【 B5】 41 【 B6】 42 【 B7】 43 【 B8】 44 【 B9】 45 【 B10】 46 【 B11】 Section A Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You
49、are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item with a single line through the center. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once. 46 Earthquakes may rightly
